Formula One News » Kubica rues mistake that cost second place Posted on 31/08/2010
In light of recent results, any trip to the podium at Spa-Francorchamps would have been welcomed by Renault and Robert Kubica, but the Pole had reason to be disappointed with third in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Although quickly shuffled out of second place in the early running, as both Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel passed him on the run to Les Combes, Kubica returned to the position when the title rivals clashed on lap 15, and had enough in hand to stay ahead of polewinner Mark Webber until the rain returned in the closing stages.
“It was a good race for us and, on the first pit-stop, we did a very good job, with a very good in-lap,” he reflected, “It was close with Mark, but then I started pulling away.
“When it was quite wet, Lewis [Hamilton] went off and I was catching him quite nicely. But then, in the pit-lane, I had to change a few things on my steering wheel for the wet tyres and wing settings, and got distracted a bit. When I was done with all the switches, it was too late – I jumped on the brakes and locked the front wheels and, unfortunately, took some guys on my front wing.
“I lost second place there, but that’s racing. Unfortunately, one mistake in the race which cost one position.”
The introduction of its own version of McLaren’s F-duct system pushed Renault back towards the front of the field, with Kubica holding a front row grid slot until Hamilton’s late lap, but still securing his best qualifying spot since Monaco in May. And, while Hamilton cleared off in the opening laps, the Pole was able to keep both Button and Vettel at bay until an almighty moment at the top of Eau Rouge.
“Conditions were very difficult,” he admitted, “On the second lap, going through Eau Rouge, I saw Lewis going wide – actually, I was also very wide, but I tried to make the apex in order to attack him on the back straight if he lost a lot of speed.
“Unfortunately, when I went up the hill, I lost the car completely, first to the left, then to right, and I was very lucky to be able to continue. Then I lost position to Jenson.
“On the restart, I had very poor grip and, going into turn one, I locked the rear wheels then the front wheels and then, on the exit, I was no longer on the good line and Sebastian went through.”
Despite the disappointment at losing second spot to a botched pit-stop, the Pole admitted that he had been impressed with the revised R30, and was optimistic that he can run at the front again in forthcoming races.
“I think it was a great weekend for us,” he confirmed, “The F-duct seems to be working very well. Performance is much better than it was in the last races, so I hope to continue this way.
“Monza will be quite a tricky race, [and] quite difficult to predict because it is a completely different downforce level track and I most probably will not have the F-duct there.
“But then we go again to the overseas races. Singapore should be a good one for us. It is good track for us but, most probably, we won’t have the F-duct there unfortunately. We will see.
“I don’t think anyone thought we could be so competitive here. We were in the top five in all conditions in every single session and, today, we have seen good pace. Unfortunately, we lost second place due to my mistake.
“Things can change very quickly as we have seen this season, but what is important to us is to keep working, keep developing and keep seeing good things for next year’s car.”
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